Les Paul Tribute Weekend at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

Gibson Luthier Workshop, Meet the Curator tours, premiere screening of film footage and more will honor Les Paul

CLEVELAND (July 22, 2010) – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum will host a weekend of events devoted to celebrating the extraordinary legacy of musician, inventor, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Les Paul beginning Friday, August 13 through Sunday, August 15. A special interview with one of Gibson Guitar’s Luthiers Michael McGuire along with Meet the Curator tours, live performances, screenings of film footage including the premiere of Les Paul Live in New York and more will surround the exhibit The New Sound: Les Paul and the Electric Guitar. Guitar Center will also be on site with a special Gibson Les Paul product tent encouraging fans to experience the sound and feel of a Les Paul guitar. This event is generously supported by Ohio Natural Gas, Gibson Guitar and Guitar Center.

Stay all weekend and save -- Full-year membership, two-day passes and family package available

Rock Hall Membership includes free admission all year long and start at $50 for an individual. Join at the Admission desk or in advance at rockhall.com/membership.

Two-day passes are available through the Museum’s box office. Passes are $33 for adults, $25 for seniors and $20 for children. Passes are good for two consecutive days only.

Family PackageAs part of the weekend celebration, the Rock Hall is pleased to offer a special Les Paul Weekend Family Package. Purchase two regular adult tickets for either Saturday, August 14th or Sunday, August 15th and receive two “Youth” tickets FREE—a savings of $26! Youth tickets are valid for ages 9-12 only; ages 8 and under are always free. Tickets are ONLY valid either Saturday, August 14th or Sunday, August 15th 2010. Visit http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/ion15d to order online or call 800-745-3000 and mention code LESPAUL. Not valid for special events. U2 3D not included. Subject to availability. Offer may be revoked or changed at any time. Cannot be combined with any other offers or discounts. Offer not valid at Rock Hall Box Office. Offer expires Monday, August 9th 2010.

The name Les Paul is synonymous with the electric guitar. As a player, inventor and recording artist, Paul has been an innovator from the early years of his life.

Born Lester William Polfus in 1915 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, Paul built his first crystal radio at age nine - which was about the time he first picked up a guitar. By age 13 he was performing semi-professionally as a country-music guitarist and working diligently on sound-related inventions. In 1941, Paul built his first solid-body electric guitar, and he continued to make refinements to his prototype throughout the decade. He also worked on refining the technology of sound, developing revolutionary engineering techniques such as close miking, echo delay and multitracking. All the while he busied himself as a bandleader who could play both jazz and country music.

His career as a musician nearly came to an end in 1948, when a near-fatal car accident shattered his right arm and elbow. However, he instructed the surgeons to set his arm at an angle that would allow him to cradle and pick the guitar. Paul subsequently made his mark as a jazz-pop musician extraordinaire, recording as a duo with his wife, singer Colleen Summers (a.k.a. Mary Ford). Their biggest hits included "How High the Moon" (1951) and "Vaya Con Dios" (1953), both reaching Number One. The recordings of Les Paul and Mary Ford are noteworthy for Paul's pioneering use of overdubbing - i.e., layering guitar parts one atop another, a technique also referred to as multitracking or "sound on sound" recording. The results were bright, bubbly and a little otherworldly - just the sort of music you might expect from an inventor with an ear for the future.

In 1952, Les Paul introduced the first eight-track tape recorder (designed by Paul and marketed by Ampex) and, more significantly for the future of rock and roll, launched the solid-body electric guitar that bears his name. Built and marketed by Gibson, with continuous advances and refinements from Paul in such areas as low-impedance pickup technology, the Les Paul guitar became a staple instrument among discerning rock guitarists. This list of musicians associated with the Gibson Les Paul include Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Slash and Mike Bloomfield. Over the ensuing decades, Paul himself has remained active, cutting a Grammy-winning album of instrumental duets with Chet Atkins, Chester and Lester, in 1977, performing at New York jazz clubs, and continuing to indulge his inventor's curiosity in his workshop at his home in Mahwah, New Jersey.

Les Paul was inducted into the Early Influence category of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. He was honored again by the Rock Hall in 2008 as the Museum’s 13th American Music Master. Each year, the American Music Master series explores the legacy of one of those pioneering figures in a range of events that includes Museum exhibits, lectures, films, a major conference and a tribute concert.

Les Paul died of complications from pneumonia on August 12, 2009 at the age of 94.

About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. It carries out this mission through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. On Wednesdays (and Saturdays through Labor Day), the Museum is open until 9 p.m. Museum admission is $22 for adults, $18 for adult residents of Greater Cleveland, $17 for seniors (65+), $13 for youth (9-12), children under 8 and Museum Members are always free, for information or to join the membership program call 216. 515.8425. For general inquiries, please call 216.781.ROCK(7625) or visit www.rockhall.com. The Museum is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.